ADAM FRISBEE

One of the primary purposes of a teacher is to foster healthy curiosity and inspire generations of educated people to feel confident to forge new pathways to solving humanity's most serious challenges. Teachers in all disciplines bear this responsibility, and as a teacher, it is my duty to help students within my discipline make the world a better place.

Through my chosen discipline—information systems—I teach students how people, data, and technology can converge to build systems of value to people, and to remove barriers that once existed, especially in business, healthcare, and education. For example, technology now allows students from anywhere in the world, and from any socioeconomic background to access educational resources from the world’s best universities. Indeed, history shows us that technology has always been one of the primary disruptors to traditional barriers. The automobile revolutionized transportation, the telephone forever changed how we communicate, and the internet—with all of its implications—has forever changed how we do almost everything.

My teaching methods include online discussions, videos, and other resources, along with in-class discussions, demonstrations, and practical application. To augment academic instruction, I invite accomplished individuals from outside the university as guest lecturers. These invaluable guests give students a richer educational experience and allow them to discover what it might be like to work in this discipline.

Treating each student as a future technology or business leader is important to my teaching success. At a future time, I suspect former students will become welcomed industry guest speakers in my classes. Students are, of course, the most important part of the university community, and I treat each class as a discussion among a community of scholars rather than a lecturer speaking “at” students. Teaching is learning, I have learned at least as much from students as they have learned from me.